The Beginning of the End
by KateJBrown
Summary: With only months to live, Eleanor Ray moves back home to Forks. While she was waiting for the end of her life, unbeknownst to her, her life was just beginning Sam/OC (no Emily)
1. Prologue

**Hey guys. This story has a bittersweet ending. It's about love, life, and death. If you are not a fan of that, I do not blame you for skipping this story. That being said, if you'd like to stick around for this story, I'm happy to have you! I am not a doctor, nor do I have a lot of experience with medicine, so some information may be incorrect. I am, of course, just a fan and do NOT own anything Twilight related. I will be uploading multiple chapters at once. Thank you for reading!**

**K*J*B**

Life was cruel.

Just when Eleanor Ray thought her life was on the up and up, her world came crashing down.

Three weeks earlier, Eleanor went out with college friends. Roller skating had never been her forte, so it was no surprise that the clumsy 21-year-old had taken a tumble and a hit to the noggin. While she insisted that she was fine, a quick trip to the ER to check out the bump on the back of her head turned dark. Instead of finding out she had a concussion, she found out she was dying.

Glioblastoma; brain cancer.

After seeing several specialists, the prognosis was poor. 12 months at best.

So, she packed up her small dorm room and headed back home to Forks, Washington. It was her mom's idea. Be close to family, spend time with them.

Her parents had begged her to consider treatment, but Eleanor wanted to go out surrounded by family at home rather than in a hospital bed. But she wasn't giving up.

She was going to live her last year to the fullest, do things she never thought she could do, and laugh as much as possible.

Little did Eleanor know, her life, how ever long she had left, was just about to start.


	2. Chapter 1

The Ray family lived on the edge of Forks, their property leading into the woods. As a child, it wasn't uncommon for Eleanor and her little brother Andrew to wander off into the forest. They'd find sticks to play with, trees to climb, and puddles to splash in.

As Eleanor got older, the woods where she spent much of her childhood in turned to her own sanctuary. After joining the small art club at Forks High, she'd often find herself wandering the trees until she found a particularly beautiful spot to sketch. She'd admit that she wasn't very good, but she enjoyed the fresh air and nature more than anything.

Since she'd been back, she wasn't allowed to wander the woods she so loved. Her parents and brother had started to treat her like a porcelain doll. While it frustrated Eleanor, she didn't blame them. She'd act the same way if Andrew or one of her parents were in the same shoes as she was.

Although she knew she was sick, she didn't _feel_ any different than she did a month earlier.

Yes, her headaches she had once brushed off as stress induced had gotten more intense and grew in frequency, but other than that, she was still Eleanor. But she knew that was going to change. The doctors had said that she was going to notice changes: nausea, weakness, dizzy spells…. The list goes on. And if she was honest, she wasn't ready for it.

So, on Monday when Andrew was at school and her parents were away, Eleanor took off into the woods she once loved.

She pulled her curly red hair up into a baseball cap and grabbed her sketching supplies before taking off into the woods.

She wandered aimlessly, slowly taking in the surroundings. Eleanor enjoyed the cool breeze that washed the smell of rain over her. It _always_ smelled like rain.

Finding a small, dry clearing, Eleanor sat down against a rather large tree. She'd probably walked two miles into the woods. It was a spot she knew well. Before she left for college in Seattle, she would come here often after school to take a load off and relax. The birds chirping above her, the sun peeking through the always cloudy sky… She missed this.

As she began to sketch the few trees in front of her, tears welled up in her eyes and she threw the sketch book and pencil on the moss-covered ground.

Eleanor hadn't cried once since her diagnosis. While she wanted to, she tried her hardest to be strong for her friends and family. But here, alone, she cried.

She didn't _want_ to die.

She sobbed into her hands, her chest feeling tight.

A year. 365 days. It wasn't _fair_.

She cried for her parents, her brother. She cried for her cat who she loved dearly. She cried for her friends. And she cried for herself.

Eleanor always imagined that she'd finish her nursing degree, find a nice guy, settle down, and have a few kids. She thought she'd be like her great grandma Kay and live to be 101. She never thought she'd die young.

But that's the thing though, right? Nobody thinks that they'll die early. Nobody thinks they'll ever get cancer.

The young and naive part of her (although she'd never admit it) thought she'd live forever. That she was invincible. But now that she was faced with her mortality, she was overwhelmed.

In frustration, she grabbed her sketch book she had discarded on the ground and threw it as hard as she could against a tree. It thudded quietly against the ground. She pulled her knees up to her chest and sniffled. She was exhausted. She was tired of putting on this mask to hide how she really felt. She felt that hiding her true feelings from her friends and family was the best way to protect them, but it was ultimately hurting herself.

She sighed and went to stand to grab her now crumpled sketch book when she felt overwhelmingly dizzy. Bracing herself against the tree she was leaning against, she waited for her world to stop spinning before grabbing her discarded sketch book.

As she prepared to head back home, a deep voice startled her.

"Eleanor?!"

She glanced at her watch and sighed. Of _course,_ she had been in the woods for far too long. The hike to her spot and her melt down session had lasted almost two hours.

A very large, shirtless man ran toward her, his eyes scanning over her body for any signs of trauma.

"I'm fine! I'm fine. I just… got caught up in my own thoughts." Eleanor grumbled, brushing the foliage off her.

"Sam? Did you find her?" An out of breath police officer she recognized as Chief Swan questioned as he grew closer to the pair. Eleanor groaned again, throwing her head back.

"Seriously?" she questioned. "I'm fine. I just went on a walk. I can't even do that?" She glared at the two men, secretly checking out the shirtless man who was the one to find her (even though she wasn't technically lost).

As she began to walk home, her eyes met Sam's and she rolled her eyes, leaving him stunned as she walked by.

Chief Swan patted Sam Uley on the shoulder as a thank you before following her back toward her home.

Sam stood in the middle of the forest, stunned and unable to move as he watched the fiery red head who was now his entire world walk away.

**K*J*B**

Eleanor stormed passed her frantic mother, ignoring the blaring lights of the police vehicles surrounding their house. She couldn't _believe_ her mother called a search team for her.

"Ellie!" Her mother cried as she stormed into the house. "Where were you?! I was so worried. We called everyone. Do you realize how worried I was when I came home and you were gone?! It's too dangerous for you to go in the woods in your condition!"

Tossing her sketch book on the counter and kicking her shoes off, she ignored her hysterical mother and grabbed a glass of water.

She sat at the kitchen table and sighed, leaning back in the chair. Her voice was calm. "Mom… I get this is scary. I get that you're worried. But I don't… I don't want you to treat me any different than how you used to. I-" her voice broke, and she stared down at the table, her fingers tracing the scuffs in the wood.

Eleanor's body then shook as she tried to keep her sobs under control, and she reached for her mother. "I'm scared," she whispered, letting tears fall down her face.

Her mother embraced her, and for the first time since she came home, they cried together.


End file.
